After an absence of more than a decade, the name Dearra re-emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2017:
- 2019: 37 baby girls named Dearra
- 2018: 40 baby girls named Dearra
- 2017: 40 baby girls named Dearra
- 2016: unlisted
- 2015: unlisted
What was influencing this name in the late 2010s?
Influencer De’arra (pronounced dee-AYR-uh) Taylor, who made YouTube videos with her boyfriend Ken Walker.
The Atlanta-based couple began both dating and posting photos to Instagram in mid-2014. Their content quickly found an audience, and “[w]hen they hit 600,000 Instagram followers, someone told them to get a YouTube account.”
They launched their primary YouTube channel, De’arra & Ken 4 Life (“DK4L”), in December of 2014.
In August of 2016 — when their channel had 1.3 million subscribers — they posted a video in which they attempted to put on 100 layers of clothing. (They made it to 50 before giving up.) Articles about the video ran in media outlets like Today, US Weekly, and Teen Vogue.
The following year, De’arra and Ken were profiled in New York Magazine in August (when they had 3.6 million subscribers) and appeared in the Tyler Perry movie Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, which was released in October (when they had 3.8 million subscribers).
In September of 2019 — when their channel had 5.7 million subscribers — they posted a video of Ken proposing to De’arra while the couple was vacationing on the Greek island of Santorini. A detailed description of the video was published by Essence a day later.
But in August of 2021, the pair announced — to their 6.17 million subscribers — that they were separating and would stop making videos together. News of their breakup was covered by outlets like Bossip and BET. (I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the baby name De’arra saw its highest-ever usage this particular year.)
What are your thoughts on the name De’arra?
P.S. The girl name that re-emerged most impressively in the data in 2017 was Brennley.
Sources:
- Rosenbaum, S. I. “Love in the Time of YouTube.” New York Magazine 7 Aug. 2017.
- DK4L – Wikipedia
- Archived copies of DK4L (via the Wayback Machine)
- SSA
Image: Screenshot of a DK4L YouTube video
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